1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hitches for vehicles and in particular it relates to a protector to prevent damage to the vehicle mounted hitch under conditions where the hitch is impacted on the roadway.
2. Background of the Invention
Hitches are added to vehicles such as automobiles, pickups and the like to provide the capability of towing another vehicle such as a trailer, e.g., a recreational travel trailer.
A popular and well known hitch arrangement is the receiver-type hitch. A receiving bracket is permanently mounted to the frame of the towing vehicle and a hitch adapter is removably mounted to the bracket. The hitch is designed so that the receiving bracket does not extend appreciably beyond the rear of the vehicle. The bracket of the receiver-type hitch includes a socket, generally square in section, that will receive the hitch adapter. The hitch adapter serves to extend the hitch beyond the rear of the vehicle and also carries the connecting member, such as a ball, for attachment to the trailers hitch. The hitch adapter is retained in the socket of the receiving bracket by a retention pin. The end of the socket has a collar on its periphery that increases its strength for withstanding the impacts typically encountered by such hitches. Typically extending on each side of the socket are rigid loops or flat brackets with holes therethrough for attaching safety chains interconnected between the trailer and the towing vehicle.
One of the problems with hitches attached to vehicles is the possibility of the hitch (either the bracket or hitch adapter) bottoming out. That is, the hitch will impact and rub on the ground surface. Since most of the roadways traversed by vehicles are now paved with material such as asphalt or concrete, the impacting and rubbing of the hitch on the surface will cause excessive wear or damage to the hitch components. This is to be avoided. The bottoming of the hitch generally occurs when negotiating drive ways or entries that are inclined with respect to the roadway. As the front wheels of the towing vehicle traverse over the incline, the hitch will in effect be pivoted about the rear wheels toward the ground. The hitch will then come into contact with the ground surface and will scrape or rub on the ground.
Hitch protectors have been applied to the hitch to protect against such impacts. One type of hitch protector has a wheel or roller mounted between two parallel plates mounted to the receiving bracket. The plates are spaced sufficiently to span the width of the socket and is mounted to extend below the bracket. The hitch protector of this type is mounted on the hitch at the position of the retaining pin. This places the hitch protector at a distance forward from the end of the hitch that it is intended to protect and accordingly does not always protect the hitch end from impact.
As described above, the hitches are often designed with loops or plates with holes that are attached to the bottom or top of the receiving bracket and protrude laterally therefrom for attachment of safety chains. The typical hitch protector (extended below the receiving bracket) will not fit the hitches provided with such safety chain fixtures attached to the bottom of the hitch.
The preferred embodiment of a hitch protector of the present invention has side plates configured for attachment to a square tube type receiving bracket by the retention pin used for retaining the hitch adapter to the bracket. However, rather than being extended below the bracket at the position of the retention pin, they extend rearwardly alongside the square tube and thus above the safety chain fixture, back to the position of the collar, i.e., at the rear-end opening of the square tube. The configured plates project below the rear end of the bracket and a channel-shaped crossbar extends between the plates and across the lower edge or lip of the collar enforced rear end. The crossbar abuts the end and bottom of the collar but without restricting the opening into the square tube. A roller is mounted to the protector below the position of the crossbar.
The hitch protector described fits all known receiver-type hitches having safety chain fixtures above or below the receiving bracket. (None provide the fixture at the position of the re-enforcing collar.) Additionally, whereas the previous protectors transferred impacts to the retention pin, the protector of the present invention transfers the impact to the re-enforcing collar at the end of the receiving bracket.